North Carolina Goat & Sheep Producers Roundup III

On Friday and Saturday of this past week, I attended the North Carolina Goat & Sheep Producers Roundup III in Greensboro, NC at the Guilford County Extension Center. On Friday, some of the topics included Utilizing Ethnic Holiday in Your Marketing Plan for meat goats and sheep, Government Regulations of Direct Marketing of Meats, Grazing Contracts for Small Ruminants - the In's and Out's, Direct Marketing of Chevon to Customers at Farmer's Markets, Weed and Poisonous Plant ID, Utilizing Forages on Small Acreage, Parasite Control and Management, Hoof Trimming Made Simple and Predator Control in Your Herd. FAMANCHA certification training and hands-on hoof trimming demonstrations were given Friday night at the NC A&T State University Small Ruminant Research Unit located nearby. Lunch Friday was food provided by several restaurants from the Chapel Hill, Cary, Winston-Salem, etc. areas for the NC Chefs Chevon and Lamb Cook-Off. Winners of the cook-off were presented with engraved plates and money for both of the chevon and lamb categories. Saturday, more classes were held to include Improving Reproduction Management in Your Herd, Performing Your Own Fecal Egg Counts, and a demonstration of How to Build a Goat-Proof Fence that was being constructed at the Extension Center. After lunch, there was a Skillathon testing goat and sheep knowledge including breeds, tools, meat cuts and feed identification. The youth broke into groups for Sheep Showmanship, Meat Goat Showmanship and Dairy Goat Showmanship. They also learned to evaluate live animals for their youth projects and learned about other 4-H opportunities. Also during the two days, there were several trade show exhibitors such as Register Goat & Sheep Supplies, ADM Alliance Nutrition, Cedarbrake Katahdins, Animal Welfare Approved, NC Farm ID, NC Meat Goat Association, NC Meat Goat Producers, NC Sheep Producers, Pasture Management Systems, Pennington Seed, The Barn Loft Western Store, Southern States and the USDA APHIS Scrapie Program. This seminar is well worth your time and you should make plans to attend #4 in two years!